Ethanol

Jason Reed/Reuters

News about Ethanol, including commentary and archival articles published in The New York Times.

Chronology of Coverage

Mar. 10, 2015

Op-Ed article by Manhattan Institute fellow Robert Bryce suggests lawmakers can sweeten idea of raising gas tax by pairing it with removal of corn ethanol tax, which has only benefited small group of farmers and manufacturers in a few states; notes tax, masked as clean-energy mandate known as Renewable Fuel Standard, imposes $10 billion in additional fuel costs on American motorists. MORE

Apr. 15, 2014

Abengoa Bioenergy and other companies are constructing plants for ethanol made from corn stalks and wheat straw, but the market is saturated already; disagreement exists over potential for biofuels, with energy act's goal of reaching 21 billion gallons by 2022 now considered unreachable; many energy experts remain skeptical about new plants. MORE

Feb. 21, 2014

Railroad BNSF says it intends to buy 5,000 strengthened tank cars to haul oil and ethanol; step comes as railroads in the United States and Canada are under intense pressure to improve safety for hazardous-materials shipments, following a string of deadly accidents. MORE

Nov. 16, 2013

Environmental Protection Agency proposes reducing amount of ethanol that is required to be mixed with the gasoline supply, first time it has taken steps to slow down drive to replace fossil fuels with renewable forms of energy; move draws bitter complaints from advocates of ethanol, including some environmentalists, who see the corn-based fuel blend as weapon to fight climate change. MORE

Sep. 15, 2013

Little known market in ethanol credits has become a hot new game on Wall Street; federal government created the market as part of a push to get refiners to use cleaner, renewable fuel or force them to buy credits; many people believe that Wall Street set out to exploit this market by amassing millions of credits just as refiners were looking to buy more to meet an expanding federal requirement (Series: The House Edge). MORE

May. 5, 2013

Environmental Protection Agency has tucked proposal for fuel that is 30 percent ethanol, rather than standard 10 percent, inside plan to reduce sulfur in gasoline; hope is that 30 percent ethanol fuel could reduce emissions and lead to development of engines built to run efficiently on it. MORE

Mar. 17, 2013

Rural America's days of promise and prosperity from ethanol are vanishing, as nearly 10 percent of nation's ethanol plants have stopped production over past year; production has become too expensive, due to drought-ravaged crops, and dip in gasoline consumption has worsened problem; demand for ethanol has shrunk to 8.7 million barrels daily from 9.7 million in 2007. MORE

Mar. 16, 2013

Some oil experts say surplus of ethanol in gasoline supply is threatening to push up prices at the pump and may have exacerbated growing cost gap between regular gasoline and premium. MORE

Nov. 17, 2012

Environmental Protection Agency rejects requests from states to relax its requirement on the use of corn ethanol in gasoline related to a steep decline in the nation's corn production. MORE

Oct. 24, 2012

Corn producers are considering a switch to the production of butanol, fuel that contains more energy and is easier to transport than traditional ethanol; decision remains daunting because shift requires costly retrofitting of ethanol plants, and results in reduced plant capacity. MORE

Aug. 30, 2012

Class-action lawsuit takes aim at five bourbon distilleries in and around Louisville, Ky, where a tenacious black fungus that feeds on ethanol blankets nearby residential properties; suit argues that the fungus is coming from the area's signature bourbon whiskey distilleries that line the city and nearby countryside. MORE

Aug. 17, 2012

Corn farming, meat production and biofuel industries are sparring over the Agriculture Department’s ethanol quota as a drought ravages corn crops; at issue is whether to suspend a five-year-old federal mandate requiring more ethanol in gasoline each year, a policy that has diverted almost half of the domestic corn supply from animal feedlots to ethanol refineries, driven up corn prices and plantings and created a desperate competition for corn. MORE

Jul. 31, 2012

Op-Ed article by Prof Colin A Carter and Dr Henry I Miller calls on the Environmental Protection Agency to temporarily suspend its renewable fuel standards, move that would divert vast amounts of corn from inefficient ethanol production back into the food market; holds shift is crucial in light of Midwestern drought and skyrocketing food prices. MORE

Jul. 12, 2012

Ethanol makers want to offer a blend of fuel that is 15 percent ethanol rather than 10 percent; Environmental Protection Agency has approved the fuel for cars with a model year of 2001 and later, but most major automakers are not convinced it is safe for engines and are warning customers to not use it; Phillips 66 service station in Lawrence, Kan, is the first in the nation to begin selling E15. MORE

Jan. 7, 2012

Editorial commends Congress for allowing the ethanol subsidy to expire, which is says cost taxpayers billions yearly and has deepened the budget deficit; urges Congress to end subsidies to oil companies and redeploy the money saved to support truly new energy technologies. MORE

Jan. 2, 2012

Federal tax credit for ethanol expires, ending three decades in which government provided more than $20 billion in subsidies for use of the product; unpopular subsidy that long seemed untouchable became a symbol of corporate welfare as the country has become more preoccupied with deficits and debt. MORE